17 June 2021
Over the last 12 months, and as a direct effect of Covid, the country has undergone quite significant societal changes. Throughout an ever-changing world we have been working hard to both react to and accommodate new market needs, whilst attempting to identify those that may be here to stay for the long term.
One of the themes we identified early in to the pandemic was the clear wellbeing benefits residents gained from having pets. In recognition of this and the wishes of our residents we scrapped pet rent. We have now also increased our pet allowance across developments to better reflect demand and the percentage of pet owners in the UK.
We’ve always allowed residents to make simple changes to their properties such as decorating, hanging pictures etc to make it feel like home, however we have more recently put together a formalised alterations request form, allowing for a little more flexibility and clarity on what residents are able to change around their home.
Throughout Covid, we have also recognised the importance of supporting smaller businesses. We have therefore invited residents who own or who are part of a small business to promote their business to our network of residents through our social media channels and via a resident business catalogue. Throughout the last year we have also noted an increase in residents wanting to set up a small or side business from home. As a result, more recently we have reassessed our resident’s ability to set up or run a small business from their rental property. Using a formalised application and approval process, we’re pleased to have now established a much more flexible policy which supports residents who want to run a small business or side business from home.
